Tongue-support.



PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904.

M. S. EVANS.

TONGUE SUPPORT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

2ml inane/a Patented November 22, 19041:. i

MARTlIN S. EVANS, OF SULPHUR SPRINGS, TEXAS.

ToNeuE-suPPoeT.

SPECIFIGATIONfOrming part of Letters Patent No. 775,811, dated November 22, 1904. Application filed February 17, 1904. Serial No. 193,992- (Nomodeh) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, lVIARTIN S. EVANS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sulphur Springs, in the county of Hopkins and State of Texas, have invented new and useful 1mprovements in Tongue-Supports, 01 which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in tongue-supports, and relates more particularly to those used on wagons and the like.

The object of my invention is'to provide a tongue-support which is adapted to support the tongue of the wagon in a horizontal position, and thus take the weight of the tongue from the neck of the horses; and a further object is to provide means whereby the tongue can be supported in either a lower or higher position, as desired.

A still further object of my invention is to provide amore simple, cheap, and durable support of this character which does not weaken any part to which it is attached and which is more readily attached to vehicles and wagons most commonlyin use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my improved support attached. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on line {M11 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings, A represents the front axle of the wagon or vehicle to which my device is adapted to be applied, and B represents the hounds, which are constructed in any desired manner, but which are preferably of the ordinary form shown. The rear ends of the hounds B are connected by the transverse bar C, and the forward ends have extending therethrough the horizontal rod or bolt D, upon which the pole or tongue is pivotally mounted between the hounds B, and said bolt passes through the tongue E. The tongue is provided at each side with the outwardly-crirved members F and F, one on each side of the pole or tongue, and have their forward ends rigidly secured thereto and their rear ends extending between and trictionally engaging the inner sides of the hounds B, and the horizontal bolt D also passes through the rear ends of said members F and F, and thus the pole or tongue is pivotally supported between said hounds.

The doubletree G is mounted upon the pole or tongue E by a vertical bolt 11, and carried by said bolt on the under side of the pole are two bars I and l, which extend rearwardly and engage the under side of the axle A oi the vehicle. The said forward ends of the bars, as before stated, pass over the bolt D, and pass ing over the said bolt is a metal strap J, which is secured to the pole or tongue, and the strain of the doubletree being on the bolt above the pole the said strap prevents the lower end of the bolt from being pushed rearwardly. On the extreme lower end of said bolt D is a nut (Z, which firmly holds the members I and I thereon. The said bars I and I are, as shown, of an elongated form and of thin metal, preferably ot' a spring metal, so that the tongue will not have a rigid connection with the hounds, and are adapted to have a slight upward and downward movement independent of the hounds, and thus when the wagon enters a rut or rough place in the road the same will not as pronouncedly raise or lower the tongue, owing to its vertically-pivoted movement.

It has been found in devices of this character after a long usage of the springs l. and 1' they become weak, and thus allow the tongue or pole to drop in a position below its normal position, and thus cause an inconvenience to the driver and at the same time putting the weight of the tongue on the horses necks. In order to obviate this diiiiculty, I provide U-shaped members K, which are looped over the transverse horizoutalbar D. These members K are two in number and are arranged one on each side of the tongue or pole in between said tongue or pole and the rearwardly extending members F and F, and thus the same are adapted to oscillate thereon when the pole or tongue is raised or lowered. The said members K are formed of thin sheet metal and, as before described, are doubled or formed into practically U-shaped members, and the said members are provided with horizontal elongated oppositely-arranged openings in, which are of a size to freely receive the rearwardly-extending spring members l and I, and thus said members serve as fulcrum-points for the said springs, thus giving greater strength and elasticity thereto.

provided with a series of oppositely-arranged openings k, and thus it is seen that by passing the spring members through the lower set of openings in the U-shaped members or clips the pole or tongue is held in practically its normal position. Should it be desired to raise the tongue or support it in a higher position, the spring members or bars I and I are passed through the set of openings thereabove, and the tongue or pole is held in a higher position.

It will bereadily seen that by the constant weight of the pole on the spring members the same will become normally bent or curved, and thus the pole or tongue will drop a little, and in order to overcome this the said spring members may be passed through another set of openings above, and thus the curvature of the spring is overcome. hen the spring members have become so sprung or curved and the uppermost set of openings in the U- shaped clip member has been reached, the spring members may be entirely removed and reversed that is, turned completely over thus forming practically new spring members. The said spring members are of a length so that considerable of the same extends beyond the axle A, and thus allows of a considerable movement of the same thereon.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a vehicle, of a tongue pivotally supported thereby, clownwardly-extending members having verticallyarranged series of horizontal openings, and

spring members carried by the tongue and passing through one of said openings of its respective downwardly-extending member and bearing against the vehicle.

2. The combination with a vehicle, of a 1onguepivotally supported thereby, inverted- Each of the said U-shaped members or clips K are U-shaped plates having vertically disposed oppositely-arranged series of horizontal openings, and spring members carried by the tongue and passing through one of said series of op positely-arranged openings of its respective U-shaped member and bearing against the vehicle.

3. The combination with a vehicle,of hounds carried thereby,a tongue between said hounds, a horizontal bolt pivotally securing the tongue between the hounds, inverted-U-shaped strips looped over the bolt and extending downward, each downwardly-extending portion of said members having a vertically-disposed oppositely-arranged series of horizontal elongated openings, and flat springs secured to the under side of the tongue and passing through any of the series of openings carried by the inverted U shaped members and bearing against the under side of the axle of the vehicle.

4. The combination with a vehicle,ot' hounds carried thereby, a tongue between said hounds, a horizontal bolt pivotally securing the tongue between the hounds, an inverted-U-shaped member looped over the bolt on each side of the tongue and extending down ward. and each downwardly-extending portion having a vertically-disposed oppositelyarranged series of horizontal elongated openings, a bolt extending vertically through the tongue, and fiat springs mounted upon said bolt on the under side of the tongue and passing through oppositely-arranged series of openings carried by its respective downwardly extending invertedU-shaped member and resting against the under side of the axle of the vehicle.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MARTIN S. EVANS.

Witnesses:

H. M. HORNE, GEO. ENIX. 

